Kyle Shanahan's latest comments on 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy should strike fear into the rest of the NFL

Brock Purdy was the MVP frontrunner for much of the 2023 season despite entering it off the back of offseason elbow surgery.

As the San Francisco 49ers look to put the memory of their agonizing Super Bowl 58 loss behind them, Purdy is enjoying the benefit of a full offseason in which to fine tune his game, and both he and head coach Kyle Shanahan are very satisfied with how it has gone so far.

And Shanahan's praise of Purdy's progress in his preparations for year two as the full-time starter should strike fear into those rivals looking to dethrone the 49ers as the dominant force in the NFC.

Asked if he had seen any differences in Purdy from last year, Shanahan told a press conference on Tuesday: "He is definitely ahead of where he was last year this time, but I mean it was just real cool being able to go through a whole year of cutups just like we did last year and just starting in Phase 1. 

"The command he had of going out there with the drills and everything and really trying to apply the stuff we had just been watching in the meeting rooms, that really happened all off our 2023 tape. Last year he had to do it and then it would just be frustrating for him because he couldn’t really go work on it. 

"He had to just visualize and think about it and had to wait for that opportunity in training camp. This year right away it’s been awesome for him to lead us through the whole offseason, just drill wise and everything. It’s he’s been great to have for a first full offseason.”

Purdy threw for a franchise record 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2023. He led the NFL in touchdown percentage, passer rating and QBR as well as every yards per attempt metric.

For Shanahan to say that Purdy is ahead of where he was last year is an ominous statement for the rest of the league. Shortly after, the quarterback elaborated by explaining where he feels he has made strides compared to 2023.

Said Purdy:

"I just think with the playbook and the play calls and all that kind of stuff, it feels a little bit smoother. It registers in my mind a lot quicker. When I go out there, I know what we’re doing. Now it’s ‘where can I get the ball to the right guy faster?’ And so, sort of just processing those kinds of things helps. At quarterback, you can obviously continue to work on your arm strength and all that kind of stuff, but I think just the way you process, the way you go through reads, you can’t get enough reps. And so, that’s where I’m at. Watching the game tape, coming into practice and running those plays right now during OTAs for me is huge. Getting better with different concepts and getting more comfortable and familiar more and more with the verbiage. So it’s been good.”

One of the clear strengths of Purdy's game since he took the reins has been his processing, which 49ers legend Steve Young recently described as his "superpower".

Purdy has consistently done an excellent job of absorbing the play calls, reading the opposing defenses and making decisions that are not only correct but are substantially more ambitious than those made by his predecessor Jimmy Garoppolo.

His and Shanahan's remarks suggest Purdy's superpower will somehow be stronger in 2024. If that proves to be the case, it will likely be even harder for defenses to find his kryptonite.